Typically, a fastener-driving tool of the type noted above comprises a housing structure having a nosepiece defining a drive track, a magazine mounted to the housing structure and adapted to store a strip of collated fasteners so that a leading portion of the strip extends from the magazine toward the drive track, and two other structures, one fixed to the nosepiece and the other hinged to the nosepiece, which are adapted to confine the leading portion of the strip so as to guide the leading portion of the strip along fastener-driving surfaces of the coacting structures.
As known heretofore, the fixed structure is adapted to confine one of two sides of the leading portion of the strip so as to guide the leading portion of the strip along fastener-guiding surfaces of the fixed structure. Moreover, the hinged structure is adapted to be hingedly moved between an operative position and inoperative positions. Furthermore, the hinged structure is adapted when disposed in the operative position to confine the other side of the leading portion of the strip so as to guide the leading portion of the strip along fastener-guiding surfaces of the hinged structure.
As illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,996 to Wolfberg et al., the hinged structure includes a hinged cover, which is hinged to the nosepiece so as to be hingedly movable between an operative position and inoperative positions. Further, the hinged structure includes a holding member, which is hinged to the nosepiece, which is adapted when in an operative position to hold a fastener, and which is movable to inoperative positions, when the hinged cover is moved to an inoperative position, so as to allow a jammed fastener to be cleared from the tool. As known heretofore, the hinged cover is made of steel, which does not tend to wear excessively. However, it would be highly desirable to mold the hinged cover from a polymeric material, but it would tend to wear excessively.